Mr. Varoufakis has been my favorite economist for many years now, and I think he has brilliant insights as to reasons for the Eurocrisis. Whether he can translate his genius into government policy is another matter, but I wish him the best luck.
I've heard him tell the story about how he became Valve's economist. Mr. Varoufakis is a regular guest on the popular left-wing podcast, Doug Henwood's Behind the News. I imagine that Gabe Newell first heard of Yanis through this podcast, but I can't confirm that. Anyway, Gabe sent Yanis a cold email explaining to him what Valve is, and asking him to join the team. Mr. Varoufakis was a long-time economics professor at the University of Athens, but he was in the process of moving to the University of Texas-Austin. Once he learned more about Valve and its virtual economy (and I imagine the fat salary), he accepted the position.
It should be noted that Mr Varfakis is a communist. Part of Gabe's pitch to Yanis was that he runs Valve on what he calls anarcho-syndicalist principles. Although I don't know anything about Gabe's politics, I suspect that his sympathies are not too far from Mr. Varafakis'.
If you want to hear some of his recent thoughts on the Eurocrisis, check out this interview from a couple months ago. IMO, no one does a better job of plainly explaining the malaise in Europe better than this dude:
Mr. Varoufakis has been my favorite economist for many years now, and I think he has brilliant insights as to reasons for the Eurocrisis. Whether he can translate his genius into government policy is another matter, but I wish him the best luck.
I've heard him tell the story about how he became Valve's economist. Mr. Varoufakis is a regular guest on the popular left-wing podcast, Doug Henwood's Behind the News. I imagine that Gabe Newell first heard of Yanis through this podcast, but I can't confirm that. Anyway, Gabe sent Yanis a cold email explaining to him what Valve is, and asking him to join the team. Mr. Varoufakis was a long-time economics professor at the University of Athens, but he was in the process of moving to the University of Texas-Austin. Once he learned more about Valve and its virtual economy (and I imagine the fat salary), he accepted the position.
It should be noted that Mr Varfakis is a communist. Part of Gabe's pitch to Yanis was that he runs Valve on what he calls anarcho-syndicalist principles. Although I don't know anything about Gabe's politics, I suspect that his sympathies are not too far from Mr. Varafakis'.
If you want to hear some of his recent thoughts on the Eurocrisis, check out this interview from a couple months ago. IMO, no one does a better job of plainly explaining the malaise in Europe better than this dude:
http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/2014/11/24/taking-stock-of-the-eur...